Spring-and-shock absorber system having differential roll bellows

Abstract

A combined spring-and-shock-absorber system for supporting wheel suspensions or axles on a vehicle body has a tubular roll bellows (U-bellows) arranged between a wheel-bearing or wheel-controlling connection and a connection on the vehicle body side, the bellows being arranged between an outer bell and a rolling piston, the outer bell and the rolling piston, in each case, having at least partially varying diameters over the height of the corresponding component, and having walls that contact the tubular roll bellows. Both ends of the tubular roll bellows being sealingly secured on the rolling piston at segments having different diameters, the lower mounting section having a larger diameter than the upper mounting section. For this purpose, a tubular roll bellows is used, which is configured as a differential roll bellows, whose interior is filled with a fluid and communicates with a hydraulic accumulator supported on the chassis and/or vehicle body. On the basis of the present invention, a combined spring-and-shock-absorber system is developed, which contains a friction-free displacement device in a thin construction.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A combined spring-and-shock-absorber system for supporting at least one of wheel suspensions and axles on a vehicle body, comprising: 
       an outer bell;  
       a rolling piston;  
       a hydraulic accumulator that is supported on at least one of a chassis side and a vehicle body side; and  
       a tubular roll bellows positioned between one of a wheel-bearing and wheel-controlling connection and a connection on a vehicle body side, the bellows being arranged between the outer bell and the rolling piston, the outer bell and the rolling piston each having at least partially varying diameters over a height of the respective component, the outer bell and the rolling piston each having walls that contact the bellows, ends of the tubular roll bellows being sealingly secured to the rolling piston at segments having different diameters, a lower mounting section of the bellows having a larger diameter than an upper mounting section of the bellows, the bellows having a bellows interior filled with a fluid, the bellows interior configured to communicate the fluid with the hydraulic accumulator.  
     
     
       2. The combined spring-and-shock-absorber system of  claim 1 , wherein the tubular roll bellows is a differential roll bellows having at least two parts. 
     
     
       3. The combined spring-and-shock-absorber system of  claim 2 , wherein ends of the at least two parts of the differential roll bellows face and connect to each other by a connecting sleeve. 
     
     
       4. The combined spring-and-shock-absorber system of  claim 3 , wherein the connecting sleeve has a working line that passes through the outer bell. 
     
     
       5. The combined spring-and-shock-absorber system of  claim 1 , wherein one of at least one restrictor and at least two throttle return valves is arranged in a fluid flow between the bellows interior and the hydraulic accumulator. 
     
     
       6. The combined spring-and-shock-absorber system of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid is a water-alcohol solution. 
     
     
       7. The combined spring-and-shock-absorber system of  claim 1 , wherein during travel operation of a vehicle, the bellows interior is connected to an external fluid supply via a supply line. 
     
     
       8. A combined spring-and-shock-absorber system for supporting one of wheel suspensions and axles on a vehicle body, comprising: 
       an outer bell;  
       a rolling piston;  
       an accumulator having a volume; and  
       a tubular roll bellows positioned between one of a wheel-bearing and wheel-controlling connection and a connection on the vehicle body side, the bellows being arranged between the outer bell and the rolling piston, the outer bell and the rolling piston each having at least partially varying diameters over a height of the respective component, the outer bell and the rolling piston each having walls that contact the bellows, ends of the bellows being sealingly secured on the rolling piston at segments having different diameters, a lower mounting section of the bellows having a larger diameter than an upper mounting section of the bellows, the bellows enclosing a bellows interior filled with a volume of gas, the bellows interior being controllably connected to the accumulator volume and to a pressure pump to communicate the gas therebetween via tubular connectors located in the wall of the outer bell.  
     
     
       9. The combined spring-and-shock-absorber system of  claim 8 , wherein: 
       the tubular roll bellows includes two roll-bellows halves constituting a differential roll bellows;  
       the rolling piston includes an upper segment and a lower segment constituting a differential rolling piston; and  
       the roll-bellows halves of the differential roll bellows and the upper and lower segments of the differential rolling piston are arranged so as to be opposite each other.  
     
     
       10. The combined spring-and-shock-absorber system of  claim 9 , wherein the roll-bellows halves are configured to roll on interior surfaces of an upper and a lower segment of the outer bell and on exterior walls of the upper and lower segments of the rolling piston. 
     
     
       11. The combined spring-and-shock-absorber system of  claim 10 , wherein the exterior walls of the rolling piston and the interior surfaces of the outer bell are arranged such that the two roll-bellows halves, configured to roll between the rolling piston and the outer bell, have effective radii that are different from each other. 
     
     
       12. The combined spring-and-shock-absorber system of  claim 8 , wherein the upper segment of the rolling piston, assigned to a first roll-bellows half, has a different radius than the lower segment of the rolling piston, assigned to a second roll-bellows half. 
     
     
       13. The combined spring-and-shock-absorber system of  claim 8 , wherein the two roll-bellows halves are secured to the rolling piston and the outer bell in a pressure-tight manner using at least one of clamping rings and a connecting sleeve. 
     
     
       14. The combined spring-and-shock-absorber system of  claim 8 , wherein the rolling piston is configured in a hollow cylindrical fashion to receive a shock absorber, a first end of the shock absorber being mounted fixedly on a lower end of the rolling piston, and a second end of the shock absorber being secured fixedly on a covering plate located on the outer bell. 
     
     
       15. The combined spring-and-shock-absorber system of  claim 8 , wherein the rolling piston is configured in a hollow cylindrical fashion and is part of an enclosed shock absorber as a shock-absorber tube.